Shop

Auris

The Toyota Prius V has a lot to recommend it, but adventurous and sporty styling is not in its repertoire. That's why this new Auris Touring Sports has our attention. Claimed to be the "first full hybrid estate car" in the compact class, this two-box Auris has genuine visual panache to go with its load-lugging capability and parsimonious fuel economy. In the metal, we think its v-shaped grille and headlamp treatment acquits itself better than it does on the new RAV4, a model that shares its new

Toyota showed off the Touring Sports version of the Auris next to the newly introduced Auris Hybrid at last year's Paris Motor Show, but didn't say much about it. Six months later, just ahead of the Geneva Motor Show, the company is crowing about that wagon going on sale with the Hybrid Synergy Drive, creating the Auris Touring Sports Hybrid.

Cats generally don't like car rides. Cats universally detest veterinarians. Yet to showcase the die-for-it allure of the Toyota Corolla in New Zealand (which isn't our Corolla but the European Auris), ad house Saatchi and Saatchi asked, "What lengths would a cat go to for a ride if they loved it?"

Toyota may have given us the full spec-sheet on its revised Auris before the car made its official Parisian debut, but our first live look at the next-generation wagon nevertheless proves compelling. The longer, lower five-door looks the part of a better-handling hatchback – just the role that Toyota hopes the hybrid can play in the European market.

How do you follow up androgyny? With a Spanking Orchestra, obviously. Proving that the 2013 Toyota Auris has depths we haven't begun to comprehend, Toyota's Japanese ad agency has followed up the head-turning spot with Stav Strashko by kitting an Auris out with "spanking machines" and putting it on display at the Daikanyama Art Street festival.

This one will take some puzzling. Toyota has released an ad for the company's brand-new 2013 Auris hatchback, complete with a topless model. It's not what you think, however. The agency behind the spot contracted Stav Strashko, a 19-year-old male model born in the Ukraine and raised in Israel for the role. Strashko has a distinctly androgynous appearance and has modeled women's clothing in the past. He says he gets mistaken for a female fairly often, but believes "the mind sees what it wants." T

The Toyota Auris has been comprehensively reworked, now only awaiting its Paris Motor Show debut. It's still a small package, but it's got a big burden: Toyota says it represents a "determination to engineer cars that are more appealing and dynamically engaging to drive while building on its long-established reputation for quality, durability and reliability."

As we reported yesterday, Toyota announced today the availability of a new premium compact hatchback called the Blade. Based on the Auris, the Blade gets a sharper edge of style with a sculpted front end that's more aggressive than the bloated face of the Auris. Unlike what we told you yesterday, Toyota did not announce a powerful 280-hp V6 as an engine option for the Blade, at least it hasn't yet. At launch, the Blade will be powered by Toyota's 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine, which Wikipedia l

Nihon Car & Bike is reporting that Toyota will announce an upscale version of the Auris in Japan called the Blade. The vehicle will reportedly have multiple trims, including one with a 280-hp V6 (!). The website happened to run across a parking lot full of Blades while test driving the Auris and snapped an album's worth of pics. From the pictures we can see the Blade has a different front end than the Auris that's sharper with a more traditional grille and aggressive lower front fascia. New